Nov. 13, 2012 at 6:19 PM ET
Everyone likes to pack into a photo booth when the opportunity presents itself, but this particular photo booth in Tokyo is a bit different: Instead of a few small prints of you and your friends, it creates full-on 3-D figurines.
The Omote 3D photo booth isn't actually, strictly speaking, a booth. And it's not quite as simple as putting in a dollar and getting a roll of prints out. But it's not far off.
Subjects must make an appointment to drop by the studio, where they must stand still for about 15 minutes as someone scans them carefully with a stereoscopic camera. This captures not just light and colors, but also people's size and height, the folds in their clothes, and their hairstyles.
After the scanning process, the model has to be checked and adjusted, and then a 3-D printer takes over, recreating you in miniature. "Additive manufacturing," as it is known, isn't a very fast process — the Omote people say that the turnaround time may take a month (if we're reading our Google translate correctly).
There are a few similar services offering quick turnarounds of 3-D scans, but this one appears to produce a more high-quality reproduction than any available right now. Imagine a pair of these figurines on top of a wedding cake!
The Omote 3D booth will be be open in the Harajuku district of Tokyo from Nov. 24 to Jan. 14. If you're in the area, you can see availability here and make a reservation. But bring your wallet: the figurines will set you back between $250 and $500 depending on the size you choose.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
